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Dallas Cowboys VP Charlotte Jones Anderson named chair of local Men’s Basketball Final Four committee

Mike Bobinski, chair of the Division I Men's Basketball Committee, Charlotte Jones Anderson and Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby unveil the NCAA logo for the Arlington 2014 Final Four on November 8, 2012 at Cowboys Stadium.

The local face of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four at Cowboys Stadium is a familiar one around the football field in Arlington.

Charlotte Jones Anderson, vice president of brand management for the Dallas Cowboys and daughter of owner Jerry Jones, was announced today as the chairman of the board of the North Texas Local Organizing Committee. The committee will help the NCAA plan events for the basketball tournament, which includes regional games this year.

Anderson was also a Super Bowl XLV host committee member and is a major figure in the Cowboy charitable efforts. She’s chairwoman of the Salvation Army’s national advisory board and chairwoman of the National Football League Foundation.

Anderson said the work of this local organizing committee will be similar to the responsibilities of the Super Bowl XLV host committee – only on a much smaller scale.

“We provide them [NCAA] options, and they make their decisions,” she said.

Anderson said most activities associated with the Final Four are organized by the NCAA and held annually. Those include the Big Dance concert series and Bracket Town, a basketball-themed amusement area similar to the NFL Experience.

There will be some locally planned activities for the public although not on the same ambitious scale as Super Bowl XLV.

“You’ll see something similar to how we did SLANT 45 [service learning project] with a community responsibility role and engaging kids,” Anderson said. “You’ll see us trying to engage children in community service and the arts.”

She said the programs and events are still in the planning stages. The organizing committee also hope to recruit 3,000 volunteers to assist with the efforts.

Anderson said the NCAA is still deciding the location of venues and events. Most blocks of hotel rooms will be in the Dallas area, and it’s not clear yet what will be scheduled for Arlington other than the games.

The decision to select Cowboys Stadium for the Final Four was a bold move by the NCAA, she said. At the time Arlington was chosen, the stadium wasn’t finished and hadn’t been held in the round. Since then, Cowboys Stadium has hosted the NBA All Star game and a basketball match up between the University of Texas and University of North Carolina.

She said the first test of the all planning will happen in a little more than two months when the South Regional is played in Arlington.

The board also elected Noe Hinojosa, president and CEO of Estrada Hinojosa Co., as the committee’s treasurer. At least a half dozen members have ties to the Super Bowl XLV bid and host committee.

Here’s the list of the other members of the board of directors: Rick Baker, president and CEO of the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic; George Bayoud, president of Bayoud & Company, Inc.; former Dallas Mavericks star Rolando Blackman; Bob Bowlsby, Big 12 commissioner; Jay Burress, outgoing president and CEO of the Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau; Philip Jones, president and CEO of the Dallas Convention & Visitors Bureau; Nancy Lieberman, member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; Gina Puente, CEO and co-founder of Puente Enterprises, Inc.; Terdema Ussery, Mavericks president and CEO; John Stankey, senior vice president of AT&T; Kathy Saunders, vice president and general manger of KDFW-TV (Channel 4); Alan White, chairman and CEO of PlainsCapital Bank; Frank Windegger, former Texas Christian University athletic director.

The big games will be played in Arlington next year, but the college basketball arrives here in late March. Cowboys Stadium will host the South Regional. Sweet 16 games will be played March 29, and an Elite Eight will be played March 31.

Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster.

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